Medical Management of Menorrhagia in Pre- and Perimenopausal Women

Abstract

Several studies have documented that the perimenopausal transition in terms of menstrual period intervals and duration of bleeding is similar to that which is experienced at the onset of menarche in the adolescent. That is, the interval between menstrual periods begins to lengthen and the duration of bleeding remains unchanged. Current evidence suggests that, along with the lengthening of the interval between menstrual periods, the amount of flow with each menstrual period also changes (1–3). The amount of menstrual bleeding both increases and decreases in perimenopausal women. The percentage of perimenopausal women reporting a change in menstrual flow was 51% (n = 194) of 380 women (3). An increase in the amount of menstrual flow has been positively correlated with the irregular menses that occur in perimenopausal women (2).